Thanks to yourefragile for picking this one up. Server in a SAVOR wine glass. Pours a fairly-clear golden-copper color. Really nice white head with good retention. Lots of lacing. Nose has a good bit of spice and some very light fruit. Flavor has a nice bit of hops with some mild earth and a light touch of pine. Pretty big dose of bitterness, comparatively speaking, with a medium body. Good, but not great.

A: this one gushed from the bottle. 3.5 finger slightly off white foamy head on a murky deep gold with amber hues body.

S: you can easily smell this one from two feet away. well rounded yeast, banana/pineapple fruity esters and candied oranges with a subtle herbal note. As the foam settles the hops including grapefruit, pine and earthy notes come through more strongly.

T: Interesting play between the fruity esters and hops. yeast and fruits seem to dominate up front with the finish more of a grassy/floral hop note which lingers for quite some time. Lacks the sharpness/peppery note of many in the genre.

M: medium body and high carbonation.

Overall: One of the best smelling saisons I have had. The flavor is more interesting than it is great but still a nice tasting beer. This one is a must try overall.

Highly drinkable and full of character, this well built and hoppier version of Saison bridges what's best about both IPAs and saison.

Burnish gold in color, the hazy ale releases a creamy and fluffed off white head that's fueled by constant streams of carbonation underneath. Firm in its retention and decorative with its lace, the beer delivers a charming Belgian appearance, albeit a bit darker than most modern versions but likely similar to traditional ones.

Wood, grass, and hay fill the nose with a dried malt cracker-like bready scent. Overtones of fruit and spice layer with apricot and papaya with peppercorn and orange peel. Musty malt character gives glimpse into the rustic earthen corkish character of saisons gone bye.

Flavors are every bit as dry as was insinuated by the nose. Low lying sweetness informs the fruit notes but remains understated. Instead the dry taste of pilsner, bread crust, and dry grain evaporate on the tongue and leave a whimsical balance of dry tropical fruit, citrus fruit, soft spicy corriander, fresh cracked peppercorn, and a dash of cumin. Damp earth allows for the must of wild yeast and cork to provide the taste of wet hay, fresh mulled grass, tea leaves, and a woody sassafras taste that develops into broad bitterness to finish.

Bone dry from start to finish as the ample sprite of carbonation bounces the malt from the palate and ushers in a quick finish of fleeting malt, hop derived bitterness with light astringency, and moderate alcohol warmth.

India Saison doesn't all and all remind me of any new fangled concoction of saison fused with IPA. Instead, it allows a glimpse into the hoppier, drier, and spicier saisons of a hundred years ago that I have only read about.

Bottle: Poured a dirty hay color ale with a super large off-white foamy head with good retention and some good lacing. Aroma of rustic malt notes with some dry floral hops with light grassy notes. Taste is also dominated rustic malt notes with some dry floral hops with light hay and grassy notes. Great bready and yeasty finish which compliment well the hops profile. Body is full with great carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Well brewed with refreshing profile while maintaining a good level of complexity.

500ml bottle. Apparently a blend between a saison, and an IPA recipe from a heretofore unknown to me Aussie brewery. Sure, why not.

This beer pours a very hazy, dark golden amber hue, with a stupid amount of frothy, rising, and chunky dirty white head, which leaves some violent ocean plume lace around the glass as it slowly ebbs away.

The carbonation is big, airy, frothy, and unfortunately the unwelcome star of this show, the body at the same time medium light in weight, and smooth only as far as one can imagine this beer lacking the saison side's unnecessary bottle excesses. It finishes mostly dry, the lingering hops, dry yeast, and skulking alcohol all contributing to the cause.

I'm getting a bit sick and tired of any and all unproven blendings of thus far unmatched styles, which are usually that way for a damned good reason. Here, the inherent assets of both participants do well enough to represent their cause; however, the overall effect is just not really worth the effort.

A - Pours with a massive, three finger head of white foam full of fish eye bubbles. The body is a hazy, dark copper color with streams of bubbles that support the head as it settles slowly and leaves nice lace.

S - Spicy, citrusy hop aromas with notes of lemongrass, coriander, and pepper as well as some caramel malt.

M - Medium-thick body, moderately high carbonation, and a very dry finish.

D - Very interesting and drinkable. The hop character is strong, but also very herbal which keeps it in balance with the spicy yeast and the style's overall character. Another nicely made beer from a brewery that time and again has proven to be one of the best out there.

I had this on-tap at the Mikkeller bar while I was in town for Sour and Bitter. Served in a tulip glass.

Appearance: Pours a clear amber color with a layer of off white head that fades to a ring around the edge of the glass.

Smell: Sweet caramel malt with mild hoppy notes along with some banana.

Taste: This beer is sweet up front. Some fruit and spice notes. The banana note isn't as prevalent as it is in the smell. The Belgian yeast note is nice, I would have liked the hops to be a bit more aggressive if you're going to market this as an India Saison.

S - Phenolic and slightly funky Saison yeast flavors, as well as a good deal of tropical, candied citrus, and piney hop flavors. There's also some caramel and brown sugar malts. I'm guessing this uses Galaxy hops. Yeast character grows as the beer warms up.

T - The taste has less malt sweetness and more palate-numbing hop flavors. A mixture of citrus and tropical fruits initially before yielding to some bread and spicy Belgian yeast in the finish. There isn't a lot of overt bitterness, but my tongue is number a bit.

D - Intriguing stuff. I'm guessing this is a second batch, as I can't find a bottling date like some of the other reviews reference. More IPA than something like Hill Farmstead E., and perhaps lacking in depth comparatively, but eminently drinkable - I had no problems with the 50cl bottle. One of the strongest offerings I've had from Nøgne in recent memory.

From the bottle's label:
India-style Saison is the hoppy, crisp and refreshing result of a north south collaboration. Classic Belgian malts and yeast, pungent Australian new hop varieties and clean Norwegian water. Serve chilled and enjoy with cheeses and charcuterie. This product is bottle conditioned and has a slight sediment at the bottom of the bottle.

Huge, fast-dying head. The liquid starts off clear, but becomes predictably cloudy as you reach the bottom of the bottle. Straw color (15 P°). Some spots for lace.

Initial smell was weak but it becomes stronger as the head dies down. Smells sour like cheese. I note green vegetables as well. Low hop and a touch of yeast.

Starts with a soft, pale malt. The hop shows up on the taste (40 IBU's). There's a peppery spice to the flavor. The aftertaste lasts a very long time. No notable alcohol.

Overall, it does seem like an IPA/Saison blend, leaning toward the Saison on the smell and the IPA on the taste.

Pours a cloudy golden orange color with a massive three finger pillowy white head that slowly settles into a thick lasting ring. Streaks of soapy lacing left behind.

Dank, floral hop aroma with a good balance of earthy and citrus/tropical fruit notes along with some funky farmhouse yeast. Slightly grassy with resinous pine notes as well as grapefruit, pineapple and orange peel. The earthy hop component is nicely complimented by the Saison yeast that gives off hints of grass, straw and hay. I'm also picking up some bread and biscuit malt.

Slightly oxidized with lots of tight carbonation which hurts the mouthfeel a bit. There's a blast of dry, sticky hops up front which provide a prominent dry bitterness that lingers over the sweeter notes and pale malt into a bone dry finish. The hop profile is too one dimensional for my liking with all dry, soily, earthy pine needle flavor. The sweet citrus/tropical fruit notes found in the nose are almost invisible with only subtle citrus rind and grapefruit. The farmhouse yeast also takes a back seat providing subtle funk that's overshadowed by the hop bitterness. Some light estery fruit notes toward the finish as well as some bread, biscuit and caramel. An interesting concept but too aggressively hopped for my preference. Could use some more sweetness and farmhouse/Saison character for balance.

I tried the local Australian version brewed by Ben Kraus at Bridge Road. I'm pleased that we got the original version over here as well. I loved the local one, let's see how this one compared.

Pours a deep, cloudy orange-gold colour, with a frothy, excessively carbonated head of just-yellowed white. Froms some clumpy, sticky lacing on the side of the glass as the head subsides. Carbonation is large-bubbled and the body is fluid, but doesn't hold the carbonation as it's tilted. Oddly enough, this is already significantly different from the Australian version.

Nose is, however, much along the same lines. Lovely bright ripe pineapple character, twinned with a touch of organics, giving it a crushed vegetation and curdled lemon character. This stands out wonderfully, and provides an awesome blending of the two styles.

Taste is, surprisingly, a lot flatter. Some clumsy bitterness through the centre of the palate clangs off the spicy, peppery saison notes, giving it a metallic finish. Earthy saison characters come through near the back, but there's almost no acidity to it, which was something I enjoyed particularly in the BRB version. The hoppy flavours of tropical punch have all but deserted the taste, leaving it more like a flat saison.

Feel is also a little overcarbonated, abrading the palate a little and leaving quite a bloating feeling.

This beer accentuates something in paricular for me: beer is better fresh, and freshness is probably one of the key factors in getting good beer (especially in this sort of style). While I love Bridge Road, I'm happy to concede that Nøgne Ø is a better brewery, but of the two examples, I much prefer the fresh local version.

Poured into a Nostradamus flute glass. Pours a light golden amber with a two finger fine white head with great retention and lacing. Aroma of saison yeast, apple and citrus juice, Belgian spices. Flavor is sweet light stone fruit, orange, light lemon and caramel malt, but quickly dries out to a earth spicy saison finish with a hint of funk, pepper and bitter herbs. Light to medium bodied with very active, peppery carbonation. An interesting take on a saison with an interesting flavor transition. The finish seems more herb bitter than hoppy; I'm not getting any discernable hop flavor, although I may be unfamiliar with the variety. The finish is mildly funky saison and peppery spice. Interesting.

A lots of tiny particles being pushed around by streams up the side and randoms popping up form everywhere, glows a hazed orange amber with a massivehalf glass of loose soapy foam that has great retention ending up as a penciltop eraser with chunks of lace, I'm talking lace sticking a 1/2inch off the side

S passion fruit, guava, pineapple, mango, sweet orange and a little lime, a bigtropical nose mixes with the farmhouse yeast and faint catty notes, quite hoppyand considering this ones 14+months old it would've been a palate wrecker fresh.some spice as it warms

T more yeast and the hops are just slightly toned down compared to the nose, some rind and hay I wasn't really smelling, good but I was could smell this one all day

M a few extra bubbles in a somewhat light body, a little gritty and a earthy,spicy finish

O refreshing and way to easy to drink, a Saison hopped up with New World hops?who wouldn't love that? I just can't believe how hoppy this one is where mostwould fade hard after this long in the bottle

I would and will drink this again, hop the hell out of a solid Saison baseand you have a winner. It would seem not everyone agrees with me as this one has ratings all over the place, its a hit for me

This beer arrived in Indianapolis about two weeks ago. This is the Nogne version of the beer, which Bridge Road also brewed and bottled. I can see why someone would classify this as a Belgian IPA but I consider this to be a Saison first and foremost.

It pours a medium bodied tangerine orange in color with moderate cloudiness. It looks spot on for a saison. The aromas are in your face and very fresh. There is a great deal of Belgian fruity yeasts with a slight hop bitterness. The fruit profile is an odd fruit salad concoction of bananas, oranges, and tangerines. The flavors are pretty direct. There is a great deal of Belgian yeast characteristics paired with a distinct hop bitterness and dryness. It drinks very dry. The dry aftertaste is where the hops are most prevalent. It's a decent drinker, but the dryness kind of took over. It's an interesting beer, essentially a hoppy saison (and not a Belgian IPA in my opinion) that could be a gateway to a new hybrid style.

Pours a hazy yellow to orange-ish color with a light tan head. In the aroma, orange citrus to a a small pine hop and a small earthiness. In the taste, dry pine to dry orange citrus hops, with a small earthiness underneath it all. A hop bite and medium to lighter bodied mouthfeel, with a note of dry orange juice citrus and a small earth in the aftertaste. Nice hops in a nice saison base.